50 of the World's Most Remarkable Photographs

Pictures serve as keepers of history, as evidence, and as storytellers of the human experience. Pictures have the power to inspire, to anger, to soothe, to heal, and ultimately to effect change.

While it is nearly impossible to choose the most impactful imagery from the millions of photographs, we present this list of 50 of the world's most remarkable. We chose them for a variety of reasons, from their historic significance to the indelible impact they left in their wake.

Will Counts/AP

1 of 50

Little Rock Desegregation

Photographer: Will Counts/AP

1957. Elizabeth Eckford, right, is followed by a crowd of students from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas including Hazel Bryan, seen at left shouting at Eckford.

AP

2 of 50

John Kennedy, Jr. Salutes President Kennedy's Funeral Procession

Photographer: AP

1963. John F. Kennedy, Jr. salutes the funeral procession of his father, President John F. Kennedy in Washington, D.C.

Malcolm Browne/AP

3 of 50

The Self-Immolation of Buddhist Monk Thich Quang Duc

Photographer: Malcolm Browne/AP

1963. Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc, sets himself on fire in protest of the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government.

1965. Muhammad Ali celebrates his first round knockout of Sonny Liston in the World Heavyweight championship match

Eddie Adams

6 of 50

Saigon Execution

Photographer: Eddie Adams/AP

1968. AP Caption: South Vietnamese General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the National Police, fires his pistol into the head of suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem (also known as Bay Lop) on a Saigon street, Feb. 1, 1968, early in the Tet Offensive.

AP

7 of 50

Black Power Salute at Summer Olympics

Photographer: AP

1968. AP Caption: Extending gloved hands skyward in racial protest, U.S. athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos stare downward during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200 meter run at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City on Oct. 16, 1968. Australian silver medalist Peter Norman is at left.

Bill Eppridge

8 of 50

Assassination of Robert Kennedy

Photographer: Bill Eppridge

1968. Sen. Robert Kennedy lies on the ground next to busboy Juan Romero after being shot in the head by Sirhan Sirhan.

1972. Nine-year-old Kim Phuc and other children, along with South Vietnamese forces, flee after an accidental napalm attack on South Vietnamese troops and civilians near Trang Bang. Phuc tore off her flaming clothes while running. Her brother, Phan Thanh Tam, at left, lost an eye in the attack.

Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images

11 of 50

Nixon Resignation

Photographer: Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images

1974. Getty Caption: President Richard Nixon of the United States gives the V-sign with both hands before boarding the Presidential helicopter to leave the White House for the last time after his resignation speech following the Watergate scandal

Heinz Kluetmeier

12 of 50

Miracle on Ice

Photographer: Heinz Kluetmeier

1980. The United States national team, composed entirely of amateur and student hockey players, defeats the Soviet Union national team in the Winter Olympic Games.

Alon Reininger/Contact Press Images

13 of 50

Ken Meeks, Patient with AIDS, Being Cared for by a Friend, San Francisco, California

Photographer: Alon Reininger/Contact Press Images

1986. Ken Meeks sits in his apartment in San Francisco, California, three days before his death from AIDS.

James L. Stanfield / National Geographic Creative

14 of 50

The First Heart Transplant in Poland

Photogarpher: James L. Stanfield / National Geographic Creative

1987. Zbigniew Religa, watching his patient, Tadeusz Zitkevits's, vital signs, after a 23-hour heart transplant. His colleague is asleep in the corner.

Jeff Widener/AP

15 of 50

Tank Man

Photographer: Jeff Widener/AP

1989. AA lone Chinese man blocks a line of tanks in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, in a protest of violence against pro-democracy demonstrators. After the photo was taken, he was pulled away by bystanders and the tanks continued onward.

David Turnley

16 of 50

Operation Desert Storm

Photographer: David Turnley

1991. Sgt. Ken Kozakiewicz cries as he learns the identity of the soldier in the body bag next to him. The fallen troop, 20-year-old Pvt. Andy Alaniz, was a close friend of Kozakiewicz's.

Steve McCurry/National Geographic

17 of 50

Camels in the Oil Fields

Photographer: Steve McCurry/National Geographic

1991. Camels among a backdrop of burning oil fields in Kuwait during the Gulf War.

Kevin Carter

18 of 50

The Vulture and the Little Girl

Photographer: Kevin Carter

1993. A vulture preys on a Sudanese toddler near the village of Ayod.

Charles Porter

19 of 50

Oklahoma City Bombing

Photographer: Charles Porter

1995. Firefighter Chris Fields carries Baylee Almon from the Alfred P. Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. Almon later died from her injuries sustained in the blast.

Carol Guzy

20 of 50

Kosovo Refugees

Photographer: Carol Guzy

1999. Two-year-old Agim Shala, a Kosovar refugee, is passed through a fence to her grandparents at a United Arab Emirates-run camp in Kukes, Albania.

Alan Diaz/AP

21 of 50

Elian Gonzalez Federal Raid

Photographer: Alan Diaz/AP

2000. Elian Gonzalez is held by Donato Dalrymple during the raid of a Miami home. Dalrymple is one of two men who rescued the 5-year-old boy at sea after his mother died. Officials sent Gonzalez back to his father in Cuba even as U.S. relatives fought to keep him in the country.

Doug Mills

22 of 50

President George W. Bush Learns of the September 11th Attacks

Photographer: Doug Mills

2001. Chief of Staff Andy Card notifies President Bush of the World Trade Center attacks on the morning of September 11. The President was visiting the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida.

Patrick Witty

23 of 50

September 11, 2001

Photographer: Patrick Witty

2001. A crowd of stunned New Yorkers watch the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:59am, September 11, 2001.

Richard Drew/AP

24 of 50

The Falling Man

Photographer: Richard Drew/AP

2001. An unidentified man falls from the North Tower of the World Trade Center following the attacks on the morning of September 11.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

25 of 50

Father Judge

Photographer: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

New York City Fire Department chaplain, the Rev. Mychal Judge, is carried away from the World Trade Center wreckage on September 11. The chaplain lost his life after being crushed by falling debris while giving a man his last rites.

2001 North Jersey Media Group/Thomas Franklin

26 of 50

Raising of the American Flag at Ground Zero

Photographer: Thomas Franklin/North Jersey Media Group

2001. Three firefighters raise the American Flag at Ground Zero in New York City.

Marcus Bleasdale/Human Rights Watch

27 of 50

Sakura Lisi

Photographer: Marcus Bleasdale/Human Rights Watch

2004. The body of eight-month-old Sakura Lisi is bathed for burial in Mongbwalu, northeastern Congo.

Eric Gay/AP

28 of 50

Hurricane Katrina Evacuation

Photographer: Eric Gay/AP

2005. AP Caption: Tanisha Belvin, 5, holds the hand of fellow Hurricane Katrina victim Nita LaGarde, 89, as they are evacuated from the Convention Center in New Orleans. Hundreds of people waited several days to be evacuated.

Chris Hondros

29 of 50

Iraqi Girl

Photographer: Chris Hondros/Getty Reportage

2005. Five-year-old Samar Hassan cries immediately following the killing of her parents by U.S. soldiers when the family's car approached during a dusk patrol in Tal Afar, Iraq. Hassan's brother, Racan, 11, was paralyzed from the waist down after being wounded in the abdomen.

Robert Galbraith/Reuters

30 of 50

Hurricane Katrina

Photographer: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

2005. A man awaits U.S. Coast Guard rescue from the flooded streets of New Orleans following the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

Barbara Davidson

35 of 50

Funeral of Edwin Cobbin

Photographer: Barbara Davidson

2009. At the funeral of Edwin Cobbin, 17, father Edward J. Cobbin in comforted as he grieves his lost son, an innocent teen killed by gang members in front of his grandmother's house in Hawthorne, California. Edwin's younger brothers are to the left.

Marcos Tristao

36 of 50

Diego Frazão Torquato

Photographer: Marcos Tristao

2009. Brazilian 12-year-old Diego Frazão Torquato plays the violin at the funeral of his teacher, Evandro João da Silva. Da Silva helped him escape the world of drug trafficking through music.

Pete Souza/White House

37 of 50

Oval Office Meeting

Photographer: Pete Souza/White House

2009. President Obama bends down to 5-year-old Jacob Philadelphia, who wanted to see if the President's hair felt like his own.

Justin Lane/AFP/Getty

38 of 50

9/11 Memorial

Photographer: Justin Lane/AFP/Getty

2011. At the 10th anniversary ceremonies at the World Trade Center site, Robert Peraza kneels in front of the name of his son, Robert David Peraza, at the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial.

Pete Souza/White House

39 of 50

The Killing of Osama Bin Laden

Photographer: Pete Souza/White House

2011. President Obama and his national security team in the White House Situation Room, during the raid which led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Lucas Jackson

40 of 50

Fashion Week

Photographer: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

2012. Three young women pose next to a homeless man during New York Fashion Week.

Rodrigo Abd/AP

41 of 50

Aida

Photographer: Rodrigo Abd/AP

2012. AP Caption: A woman named Aida cries as she recovers from severe injuries after the Syrian army shelled her house in Idlib, northern Syria. Aida's husband and two children were killed in the attack.

Jessica Hill/AP

42 of 50

Newtown Massacre

Photographer: Jessica Hill/AP

2012. Carlee Soto uses a phone to ask about her sister, Victoria Soto, a teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, after gunman Adam Lanza killed 26 people inside the school, including 20 children. Victoria Soto, 27, was among those killed.

AFP

43 of 50

China Social Suicide

Photograph by: AFP

2013. Getty Caption: a youngster jumping from Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province into the river following another person who committed suicide minutes before.

Taslima Akhter

44 of 50

Couple Found in Rubble of Bangladesh Factory Collapse

Photographer: Taslima Akhter

2013. Two victims of a garment factory building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh.

John Tlumacki

45 of 50

Boston Marathon Bombing

Photographer: John Tlumacki

2013. Police officers react immediately after an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.2013. Police officers react immediately after an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

46 of 50

Nairobi Mall Attack

Photographer: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

2013. A woman shelters her children on the floor of the Westgate Mall during an attack by militants in Nairobi.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images

47 of 50

Turkey Mine Blast

Photographer: BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images

2014. A father kisses his son following his rescue from a coal mine, after an explosion caused by an electric fault in Manisa, Turkey. At least 157 miners were killed in a collapse resulting from the explosion.

UNRWA

48 of 50

Yarmouk Refugees

Photograph by: UNRWA

2014. Palestinian refugees line up for food in Yarmouk, Damascus, Syria.

Nilufer Demir/AP

49 of 50

The Death of Alan Kurdi

Photographer: Nilufer Demir

2015. Three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi drowned when his family's inflatable boat capsized as they tried to reach the Greek island of Kos.

Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

50 of 50

Turkish Coast Guard Rescue

Photographer: Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

2016. The Turkish Coast Guard rescues refugees after their boat capsized en route to Greece. Four bodies, among them three children, were retrieved from the water while another 43 were rescued in Aydin's Didim district in Turkey.

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